Investors ‘bulk buying’ flats remains key in Hong Kong amid red-hot rental market
A record 654 buyers snapped up two or more new properties in the first half of the year, as investors look to cash in on Hong Kong’s rental market
Hong Kong’s bulk homebuyers are expected to remain a major force in the city’s new-home market in the second half of the year, after investor purchases hit record levels in the first six months on strong rental demand.
A total of 654 buyers purchased two or more units in the primary market between January and June, acquiring 1,794 flats worth HK$17.4 billion (US$2.2 billion), according to Centaline Property.
The figures more than doubled from a year earlier and marked record highs in terms of the number of buyers, units purchased and total transaction value.
Bulk buyers accounted for about 14 per cent of all primary-home transactions during the period, meaning roughly one in every seven new flats was bought by someone purchasing at least two units.
“Investors had become an increasingly important source of demand in the primary market since Hong Kong scrapped all residential cooling measures two years ago,” said Louis Chan Wing-kit, Centaline’s vice-chairman for Asia-Pacific and president of its residential division.
